The Launch of Reclaim Your TV Promises a New Age of Network Programming

As viewers gain more control over the web and what they watch, the only thing left is for them to gain power over actual television programming. With the launch of ReclaimYourTV.com, that power may soon be in our grasps. This site is part of a lead up to the 2012 launch date for Karmaloop TV– a multi-platform, 24-hour-a-day cable programming network geared toward the 18-34 year old demographic. While many networks are always vying for this demographic, Karmaloop TV is taking a proactive role to ensure that they get it.

ReclaimYourTV.com will be an geared toward promoting the upcoming launch of the network, as well as learning about what kind of programming viewers want to see. In an effort to encourage participation, KarmaLoop TV is offering weekly prizes of $2,500 for the most popular original video submission from YouTube and $1,500 for the most popular tweet with the hashtag #ReclaimYourTV. Weekly winners also receive a Karmaloop TV-branded prize package, including a “Reclaim Your TV” tote bag and t-shirt with a logo created by Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the famous “Obama Hope” poster. They are looking both for original show ideas, as well as just an idea of what viewers actually want to watch.

“ReclaimYourTV.com is the frontline of a digital revolution,” says Greg Selkoe, CEO and Founder of Karmaloop TV and Karmaloop.com. “It’s an interactive community where young people can cultivate and share ideas on what the future of television should be – one that also gives them the tools to be a part of that change on a business level. It will also serve to raise awareness and showcase the voice and creativity of this $100-billion-a-year demographic, giving cable operators authentic insight on how to keep this generation – the first to be raised on the Internet – tuned in to television.”

According to ReclaimYourTV.com, viewers can expect to see programming on Karmaloop TV range from cult classics, horror films, and kung-fu flicks to skate videos, original programming, and user-generated content. The network will be funded, in part, by Insight Venture Partners and spearheaded by Katie McEnroe, former Lionsgate Entertainment and AMC President. The name Karmaloop may already be familiar to some, as they are one of the largest online retailers of street wear.

“We want to bring programming to young people that not only changes their mentality, but lifts it,” said music mogul Pharrell Williams, the creative director of the network. “They are waiting, and we are going to deliver, by continuing to lead youth culture, not follow it.”

While what this will mean for network programming is yet unknown, it is sure to be a welcome relief to viewers that are sick of being represent by Nielsen ratings. Hopefully this will welcome in a new age of television viewing and original programming.